diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 02352a3..9ca4881 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -63,8 +63,8 @@ Transfer-Encoding: chunked
 
 ## FAQ: Why do the examples use HTTPS, do I need to use HTTPS?
 
-The examples include an HTTP2 client, so the server is has a self-signed certificate so that it can present HTTP2 over HTTPS.
-The client can still use HTTP1.
+The examples include an HTTP2 client, so the server has a self-signed certificate so that it can present HTTP2 over HTTPS.
+The client can still use HTTP1.1 as seen in the curl example above or the http1follower example.
 
 ## Dependencies
 
diff --git a/client.go b/client.go
index 4cd9f24..78aa788 100644
--- a/client.go
+++ b/client.go
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ func (b *SharedDoc) HttpPushPullChanges(ctx context.Context, url string, opts ..
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to setup request: %w", err)
 	}
-	r.Header.Set("Content-Type", ContentType)
+	r.Header.Set("Content-Type", ContentTypeWithCharset)
 	r.Header.Set("Accept", ContentType)
 	// We don't need to send the body content if the server will reject it, so we can notify that expect-continue is supported.
 	r.Header.Set("Expect", "100-continue")
@@ -155,6 +155,10 @@ func (b *SharedDoc) HttpPushPullChanges(ctx context.Context, url string, opts ..
 		}
 	}()
 
+	if v := res.Header.Get("Content-Type"); v != "" && isNotSuitableContentType(v) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("http request returned a response with an unsuitable content type %s", v)
+	}
+
 	if _, err := b.consumeMessagesFromReader(ctx, o.state, res.Body, o.terminationCheck); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/client_test.go b/client_test.go
index c2d3480..14fc091 100644
--- a/client_test.go
+++ b/client_test.go
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ func TestHttpPushPullChanges(t *testing.T) {
 			assertEqual(t, request.URL.String(), "https://localhost")
 			assertEqual(t, request.Header, map[string][]string{
 				"Accept":       {ContentType},
-				"Content-Type": {ContentType},
+				"Content-Type": {ContentTypeWithCharset},
 				"Expect":       {"100-continue"},
 			})
 
diff --git a/server.go b/server.go
index f6ad22a..0974a33 100644
--- a/server.go
+++ b/server.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
+	"mime"
 	"net/http"
 	"sync"
 
@@ -50,12 +51,29 @@ func WithServerSyncState(state *automerge.SyncState) ServerOption {
 	}
 }
 
+func isNotSuitableContentType(in string) bool {
+	mt, p, err := mime.ParseMediaType(in)
+	log.Info(fmt.Sprintf("%v %v %v", mt, p, err))
+	return err != nil || mt != ContentType || (p["charset"] != "" && p["charset"] != "utf-8")
+}
+
 func (b *SharedDoc) ServeChanges(rw http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request, opts ...ServerOption) (finalErr error) {
 	options := newServerOptions(opts...)
 	if options.state == nil {
 		options.state = automerge.NewSyncState(b.Doc())
 	}
 
+	// If there is an accept header, then ensure it's compatible.
+	if v := req.Header.Get("Accept"); v != "" && isNotSuitableContentType(v) {
+		rw.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotAcceptable)
+		return nil
+	}
+	// If there is a content-type header, then ensure it's what we expect
+	if v := req.Header.Get("Content-Type"); v != "" && isNotSuitableContentType(v) {
+		rw.WriteHeader(http.StatusUnsupportedMediaType)
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	ctx := req.Context()
 
 	// Because the request body is relatively expensive to produce, the client may only want to produce it when the request has been accepted.
@@ -65,7 +83,8 @@ func (b *SharedDoc) ServeChanges(rw http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request, opts
 	}
 
 	log.InfoContext(ctx, "sending http sync response", slog.String("proto", req.Proto), slog.String("target", fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", req.Method, req.URL)), slog.Int("status", http.StatusOK))
-	rw.Header().Set("Content-Type", ContentType)
+	rw.Header().Set("Content-Type", ContentTypeWithCharset)
+	rw.Header().Set("X-Content-Type-Options", "nosniff")
 	rw.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
 	// Flush the header, this should ensure the client can begin reacting to our sync messages while still producing the body content.
 	if v, ok := rw.(http.Flusher); ok {
diff --git a/server_test.go b/server_test.go
index cfe1c72..b61d869 100644
--- a/server_test.go
+++ b/server_test.go
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ func TestServe_empty_request_body(t *testing.T) {
 	assertErrorEqual(t, sd.ServeChanges(rw, req), "request closed with no messages received")
 	assertEqual(t, rw.Result().StatusCode, http.StatusOK)
 	assertEqual(t, rw.Result().Header, map[string][]string{
-		"Content-Type": {ContentType},
+		"Content-Type":           {ContentTypeWithCharset},
+		"X-Content-Type-Options": {"nosniff"},
 	})
 	assertEqual(t, rw.Body.String(), "{\"event\":\"sync\",\"data\":\"QgAAAQAAAA==\"}\n")
 }
@@ -72,7 +73,8 @@ func TestServe_exchange(t *testing.T) {
 
 	assertEqual(t, rw.Result().StatusCode, http.StatusOK)
 	assertEqual(t, rw.Result().Header, map[string][]string{
-		"Content-Type": {ContentType},
+		"Content-Type":           {ContentTypeWithCharset},
+		"X-Content-Type-Options": {"nosniff"},
 	})
 	lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(rw.Body.String()), "\n")
 	assertEqual(t, len(lines), 2)
diff --git a/util.go b/util.go
index bb1ef4e..05397ec 100644
--- a/util.go
+++ b/util.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package automergendjsonsync
 
-const ContentType = "application/x-ndjson; charset=utf-8"
+const ContentType = "application/x-ndjson"
+const ContentTypeWithCharset = ContentType + "; charset=utf-8"
 const EventSync = "sync"
 
 type NdJson struct {